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The whole question of what constitutes "disruption" has long been the centre of argument; by the time a case is established and goes through the usual official channels the damage has invariably been done. When it is linked, as it would appear to be in the future, with a "significant" rise in total imports the individual case would become even harder to sustain.
Fundamental Change in Policy.
At the same time some credit must be given to the Board of Trade for taking, relatively quickly, a step which obviously has a fundamental bearing on international economic policy. For nearly 40 years the Commonwealth countries have maintained their favoured position as suppliers of duty-free cotton products to Britain and although their opportunities of cashing-in on this fortunate heritage have been mainly in the past two decades, it is high time reality was re-established. Inevitably there have been the anticipated cries of complaint from abroad and the Government in its statement indicated its readiness to make some concessions to India in due course.
Strangely enough, many of those who have rushed into print on this major and complicated issue still seem to fail to recognise the interlocking relationship of textiles generally. The particular point of issue affects cotton products for the moment but everything indicates that in the next two or three years the developing countries will be increasing and raising the efficiency of their man-made fibre
industries.
In the meantime, their operations in made-up garments, knitted goods and all types of clothing already present a real threat to manufacturers in Britain. To suggest, as has been done, that certain of the larger groups which plan to switch their output completely away from cotton will be immune from the effect of future arrivals from abroad is surprisingly naive.
Although the Government rejected the case submitted in the Textile Council report for the investment grant payable in development areas to be broadened to include the traditional textile districts, it did say that the Inland Revenue would be prepared to consider an application for an increase in depreciation allowances of textile machinery worked on a multi-shift basis.
MARKETING COURSES.
Some of the "thunder" which the Productivity Centre of the Textile Council hoped to generate in publicising its two new marketing courses was stolen by the President of the Board of Trade, who made his major policy announcement on imports on the same day that the Centre's programmes were being launched. Both ventures, however, are long term in their effects and can have a marked bearing on the future of the industry.
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"Something entirely new for the Centre" was how Mr. Jim Bolton, its director, described the marketing educational programmes for senior and junior executives which are to start this autumn. They are to be organised and conducted by the same group of consult- ants which undertook enquiries on which the marketing sections of the Textile Council's report were based.
Experience in running courses of any kind has shown that one of the drawbacks is that many of those attending are of relatively junior status in their own companies and are unable to prevail on their seniors to change policies and practices when they return. A feature of the Productivity Centre course on market research for junior executives will be that each member will arrive with a definite project based on matters concerning his own company.
This means that he will go back to his parent firm with a project already recognised as having value to the company comerned and should therefore have less difficulty in selling the ideas to his own management at the conclusion of the course.
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